Expenses and Fund Heads for Trusts

A trust holds money that came with conditions and money that did not. This module keeps those heads apart and books every payment against the right one.

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How fund heads are set up

General fund

Donations given without a condition, which the committee may spend on any programme or on running the office. No condition came with it.

Restricted heads

Money a giver or a funder tied to one purpose, such as a scholarship, a building or one project in one district.

Corpus

Amounts the trust deed or the giver meant to be held rather than spent. Only the committee may move anything out.

Foreign contribution head

Where the trust receives money from abroad, it is held in its own head with its own donors and payments. How that must be kept is for the trust and its auditor.

Recording a payment

An expense entry names the programme, the fund head, the expense type and the vendor or staff member paid. A bill or voucher image is attached at entry, so the paper is not hunted for at audit time. Where a grant is funding the work, the payment also picks the budget line. Approval steps follow the limits the committee sets.

What the trust can then read

Balance by head

What came in and what went out of each fund head, and what is left unspent in a restricted one. Trustees read it directly.

Spend by programme

Total spent on a programme, split by expense type, and which heads and grants it was drawn from.

Office against programme

Administration spend separated from programme spend, which is a split most funders and trustees ask to see. Both figures come from the same payment entries, so the split does not have to be worked out again at the end of the year.

Advances and settlements

Money given to field staff for a camp or travel, and whether the advance has been settled with bills. Unsettled advances stay listed.

What the trust and its auditor decide

This does no accounting work and it does not keep your books. It records spend against programmes and heads, and your accountant decides how those entries sit in the ledgers and the annual accounts.

Which fund heads exist and what each one may be spent on
Approval limits, and who signs off above each limit
Whether a restricted head may ever be overdrawn
Which expense types and vendor lists are used

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Can one payment be split across two fund heads?

Yes. A payment can be divided across heads or programmes, and each part stays visible on both sides of the split.

Does it stop spending from a restricted head?

It can warn or block when a head runs out. Which of the two applies is a rule the committee sets.

Will it replace Tally or our accountant?

No. It records spend for programme and funder purposes, while the books, returns and annual accounts stay with your accountant.

Are bills and vouchers stored in the system?

Yes. Images attach to the payment entry, and an auditor reviewing a programme can open them from there.

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